Less than 20% of seniors 'on track' to graduate at 4 different CCS high schools

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — Less than 20% of seniors “on track” to graduate at four different CCS high schools

While mostly in full remote learning since last spring, ABC 6 On Your Side is uncovering less than 20% of seniors are “on track” to graduate at four different Columbus City Schools high schools.

On a request made last month, CCS released graduation data this week. It indicates 10% of seniors at Columbus Downtown High School now meet the requirements to graduate. 12% are currently on track at Marion-Franklin High School, 13% at South High School, and 15% at East High School.

Last month, CCS administrators said the district attendance rate last semester was 72%, chronic absenteeism was 66% and more than twice as many students were failing their high school courses compared to fall semester 2019.

Now the district has confirmed this week that it will start bringing students back to the classroom next month in a hybrid learning model. However, the plan targets elementary school students, career tech students, and students in kindergarten through the 12th grade with complex needs. No plans have yet been released for the return of the remaining middle and high school students.

“Have our students been impacted by this? Absolutely,” said CCS Superintendent Dr. Talisa Dixon. “We are working on plans to remediate that.”

District administrators said counselors are now reaching out to affected families. Overall, there are more than 2,900 students as part of the class of 2021 in Columbus City Schools. Less than 40% are currently on track to graduate.